Kym Marsh has revealed her daughter Polly was rushed to hospital last week

Writing in her OK! Magazine column, she recalled: “There was a bit of a drama in our household last week. Polly started to develop a cough and a cold, but on Wednesday night at 11.30pm she just started gasping for breath.

“I had to rush her over to Salford Royal Hospital. It turned out she’d got croup. It’s something that children up to the age of three can get but Polly is six.

“It was horrible and her cough sounded like she was sea lion. I didn’t get to bed until 5am and even then I couldn’t sleep.”

She added: “The hospital were brilliant and the staff put Polly at ease because she was terrified. It was really horrible to see.”

What is croup?

Croup is a condition that occurs in young children and babies affecting their windpipe (trachea), the airways to the lungs (bronchi) and the voice box (larynx).

Typically croup is identifiable through the distinctive cough which sounds like a dog’s bark – it can also have a harsh, painful-sounding noise when the child breathes in which is known as “stridor”.

Across most instances this is a condition that can be diagnosed easily by your GP and then treated at home.

However, if their airway gets blocked and your young one has trouble breathing, you may need to take them to the nearest A&E department.

Croup is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of “barking” cough, stridor, and a hoarse voice.

Polly was given some steroid medication and was feeling better in no time.

Kym had Polly during her marriage to Jamie Lomas, which ended three years ago.

She recently revealed that she and daughter have been watching him during his time in the jungle, saying: “I’ve been watching every night have and I think he’s been doing very well, Polly is just ecstatic because it’s her Dad.”